Economy News

Germany's Asia week: chip and battery ties in Seoul, trade reassurance in Beijing

German leaders spent Friday 30 October in East Asia on two tracks. In Seoul, Yonhap reports that Prime Minister Han Seong-sook called for greater cooperation with Germany in batteries, semiconductors and AI during Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit. The Korea Herald reports that Hyosung Heavy Industries signed a global strategic partnership with Siemens on digital power grids and AI data centre solutions, in a ceremony attended by Korea's industry minister Kim Jung-kwan and German state secretary Stefan Rouenhoff.

DW's live coverage notes Merz also visited the demilitarised zone and expressed hope for Korean reunification, while President Frank-Walter Steinmeier held talks with Xi Jinping in Beijing.

“China has always regarded the European Union as a partner.” — Xi Jinping, via South China Morning Post

How each outlet framed it

• Yonhap — Seoul's pitch: Korea wants Germany as a partner in its strongest industries.
• The Korea Herald — the concrete deal: Hyosung and Siemens teaming up on power infrastructure for AI.
• DW — the German view of a trip mixing security symbolism at the DMZ with diplomacy in China.
• South China Morning Post — Beijing's message that cooperation with the EU outweighs competition and differences can be solved by dialogue.

What we don't know yet: the value of the Hyosung–Siemens agreement, which was not reported, and whether Germany's talks in Beijing will ease EU–China trade tensions.